The Nose Knows
by Msynergy
Summary: "Seriously? He smells funny? Geez, Hank, do you go around smelling people or something?"
1. Part 1

_The Nose Knows_

**Disclaimer:** I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

**Author's Note:** An idea I had after watching Henry's furry side come out when he was threatened in "Fragments." Which, of course, snowballed as all plot bunnies (nubbins?) do. Enjoy!

He didn't like him. From the moment he met him he didn't like him.

He- smelled funny. But of course, he couldn't really tell her that. He was already a weirdo in her eyes, he could only imagine the barbs he'd get for saying something like that.

"Seriously? He smells funny? Geez, Hank, do you go around smelling people or something?"

Nope, better to just keep that little piece of information to himself.

So he went along with the plan, even readied all the tech himself because weird smelling contact or no, the Abnormal they were after was as rare as they came, not to mention extremely dangerous. That word often got thrown around a lot, but he wasn't taking any chances this time, only the gear that he knew worked was set for the big night.

He told himself it was because he didn't want anything to go wrong, but truth be told he just didn't want anything to go wrong where she was concerned, especially since she was going with that smelly guy.

"Henry."

"Huh? Oh, hey Doc."

"Are you alright? You seem rather distracted tonight."

"I'm fine, just want this one to be over and done with, ya know?"

"Having second thoughts about this Leo fellow?"

"You could say that. Wait, you too?"

"Quite. Kate's contacts have always been a touch shady, but this one is-"

"A shade darker?"

"To put it politely, yes. Actually, that's why I've come to see you. He claims to want only Kate with him for this venture because he trusts her due to past endeavors, but I would feel more assured if another one of my team were keeping an eye on him. Even if only in a furtive sense. What do you say?"

"So you're asking me to tail them?"

"More or less."

"I'm in."

_To be continued..._


	2. Part 2

_Part 2_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

It'd been easier than he thought it'd be to tail them.

Too easy, he realized now, Kate's favorite gun pointed at his face with the safety off.

"What the hell are you doing here, Hank?" she hissed, quickly lowering her weapon and switching the safety back on.

"Well, I saw you two split up and-"

"Wrong answer idiot! I repeat, what the hell are you doing _here_?" She continued to whisper fiercely, gesturing with the gun to the filth filled alley they were currently occupying.

"I- look Kate, Magnus asked me to follow you guys because she doesn't trust Leo, and neither do I, okay!"

"No, not okay Foss! There's a reason Leo only wanted me with him on this one! The gang he's a part of would literally skin him alive if they found out he was working with us!"

"Wait, gang? Now why don't I remember that being mentioned in the briefing?"

"Watch yourself, Hank."

"So this guy isn't just some regular scum of the earth? And when were you gonna to share this with the rest of the class?"

"Enough! Magnus doesn't need to know, alright? Now go back to your computers, we've only got a small window of opportunity to grab this beast and get out."

She pushed him towards the direction of his van; something he was about to heartily protest to, when stopping to think about something else she'd said made him do a complete u-turn.

"Grab? From who?"

"This is no time for Twenty Questions, Henry, now just go!"

"Now, now, Kate, is that any way to treat a colleague?"

"Leo? What are you doing here? We agreed I'd meet you inside."

Immediately, he felt uneasy. Kate was actually surprised, and there wasn't much that could spook a girl like her.

"Now, why would I do that? After all, we've got the Abnormal we're after right here."

And then the guns went off.


	3. Part 3

_Part 3_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

He saw everything that happened next in sickening slow motion.

A bullet from Leo's hidden glock spinning towards him, an answering shot from Kate's own gun as she jumped in front of him.

And the blood, so much blood - her blood.

He catches her as Leo falls to the floor, blood on his neck from a grazing shot that'd obviously been aimed for his head.

But Kate - oh God.

"She always did have spunk, part of the reason she was so good at what we did. Catching freaks like you, and, other things-" the rat bastard wheezes when he talks, but there's no mistaking what he meant by the last of those words.

Henry sees red.

"Now," Leo moved to stand, gun still in hand and aimed at Henry's head, "You are going to come quietly, or my friends behind that door will come and help me put a few holes in you as well. Will definitely lower your street value, but even a dead werewolf is worth something to somebody."

He remembers the Cabal, forcing him to change, the complete lack of control, it terrified him then, but not now. The beast rattles its chains, howling its rage.  
_  
__Pack, mate, lost, revenge._

This time he breaks those chains.

All of them.


	4. Part 4

_Part 4  
_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Not many had reason to come to the front door of the Old City Sanctuary, the majority of its residents either living full time within its walls or using its other, less obvious entrances and exits.

But that was not to say that it was entirely uncommon. Which was why when he heard banging on the door at such a late hour, the Big Guy did not think much of it.

For all his years at the Sanctuary, however, he would never have been prepared for the sight before him when he opened the door:

A bloody werewolf in tattered clothes, holding the lifeless body of Kate Freelander in his arms.

"Biguh Gu-u- heeelp."

Henry's voice distorted by fangs and blood, it was all he managed to say before collapsing to the floor, twisting to land on his back and take the brunt of the impact for the woman still in his arms.

Gathering them both in his own arms and rising quickly, the Big Guy's voice thundered through the halls of the Sanctuary.

"Magnus!"

"We must get through to him! I can't treat either of them until he releases her!"

"Henry! She is safe! Let her go!"

"Henry, it's Magnus. Kate is alive, but she will not be for much longer! Please release her!"

_Pack, Alpha, safe.__  
_  
He let go of Kate.


	5. Part 5

_Part 5_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Author's Note: So here's an extra long chapter to all you amazing readers out there for putting up with all the short ones before it. :) And for the record I have little to no medical knowledge regarding gunshot wounds outside of what I can find on Google, so any mistakes are my own. If something is way out there even for artistic license please let me know. :)

Everything ached, every muscle, every sinew, hell, every brain cell.

God, what had he done?

Then he remembers, flashes of blood and violence, guns and screams. And running, running as fast as he could, not caring who saw them, nothing mattering but the life in his arms, the heart that still barely beat even to his ears.

_Kate._

"Kate!"

"Shh, it's alright Henry, she's fine. Calm down."

"Doc, I-"

His voice cracks, weak, frail, like everything else as she helps him ease back into starched sheets and pillows. His eyes close of their own accord in exhaustion as his nose tells him he's not in the main infirmary, the harshness of antiseptic and other numerous medical smells not yet having assaulted his sensitive senses. He probably was in one of the private quarantine/sick rooms, courtesy of the woman by his bedside.

It's that same woman's manicured fingers that press an ice chip to his cracked lips, and he only just manages to open his mouth and accept the precious moisture. Dehydration felt like a serious understatement at this point. Taking a moment to feel the ice melt and the liquid slide down his parched throat, he wonders how he can accept such comfort considering what he'd done, what he'd become.

A killer, everything he'd feared since first starting to come to terms with his Abnormal nature.

And the thing was, he couldn't find one ounce of remorse within himself for it. He was glad he'd hurt them for what they'd done. He really was a monster. He didn't notice he was crying until Magnus spoke up.

"Oh, Henry."

And suddenly he's a little boy again, wrapped up in his foster mother's arms after waking himself up screaming, crying for the ones he'd lost, still running from the killers with guns who'd taken them.

Only this time he's the killer, and he didn't even need a gun to be one.

"I'm a monster."

It's the only thing he can manage to say past his tears, but Magnus holds on tighter.

"You are no monster, Henry. You protected Kate and yourself. The security cameras of a neighboring building captured everything. They came after you with everything they had, and you survived."

"But Doc-"

"And you didn't kill any of them."

"I- didn't?"

"No, you could have torn them all limb from limb in that state, but you stayed your hand. You are no monster, but you are still healing from your ordeal, as is Kate."

"How- how is she?"

"She is incredibly lucky. The bullet that was meant for you was aimed to harm, not kill. It pierced her abdominal wall and caused considerable internal bleeding. My main concern was blood loss, but you managed to get her here just in time. Your injuries, however, were much more severe."

She releases him at that, again taking her seat by his bedside, but he knows that tone. Something else besides his wounds was bothering her, and he had a feeling he was about to find out what.

"Seven bullet wounds, some flesh wounds some not, multiple lacerations from various knives, again some flesh wounds and others not, you are the luckiest of everyone, Henry. And while your abnormality kept you alive long enough to drag yourself with Kate back to the Sanctuary, do you put any value on your own life? I did not send you to tail them so that you could endanger your own existence in the process!"

"Doc, please, something didn't smell right from the start. You and I both knew it, and when that weasel left Kate I knew something really wasn't right. There wasn't any rare Abnormal Magnus, they were after me."

"Yes, Henry, I know. All those men have been detained by the police at Old City General where they were being treated for wild animal wounds. It didn't take much to get the truth out of them, terrified as they were. And- I must apologize for not seeing it sooner. It's common knowledge to many in the Abnormal community that I have Abnormals on my staff. They used Leo's connection with Kate and how we work as a team to make a calculated risk that I would send such personnel to keep an eye on things."

"And we fell for it."

"I fell for it. And I am sorry I put you in such a position Henry, however unintentional. My desire to obtain that Abnormal put you both in harm's way, I was blinded by that ambition and heaven knows I am old enough to know better."

"Magnus-"

He can't say any more, his exhaustion finally catching up with him after running such an emotional gauntlet. She notices and smiles sadly, the world and its well being on her shoulders as always, but he still didn't want her feeling guilty about him. With this in mind he pushed forward with the last bit of his strength.

"I'm a big boy Doc, I could have stayed in the van, but I didn't. I don't want you blaming yourself when it was my mistake. And I'm sorry I put you and everybody else through seeing us like that."

He didn't notice the shine in her eyes until he was finished, but ignores it for the sake of her composure and his embarrassment. He's too wiped out physically and mentally to handle his own feelings, let alone others', especially coming from the one woman he rarely ever saw not in control of her emotions.

Which is why he was surprised as hell to feel a hand reach up to smooth over his no doubt awful bed-head.

"You may be all grown up now Henry, but I will never stand for seeing one of my own hurt. Now get some sleep."

He was more than happy to oblige.

Author's Note: For those of you who may be wondering this _is_ a Kate/Henry fic, I just love the familial relationship Henry and Magnus share and wanted to pay some homage to it. Thanks for reading!


	6. Part 6

_Part 6_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Author's Note: I think two updates in one day must be some kind of record for me. :p Must be all the Sanctuary awesomness that's been flooding the internet recently. :)

He had a lot of visitors over the next few weeks.

Magnus, Big Guy, Will, even Chuck came by a few times.

But the one person he wanted to see most apparently didn't want to see him.

He was readily given updates on her condition, a steadily improving flow of vitals, but it came nowhere near seeing it for himself.

"She's all moved in to her room now. Finally convinced Magnus and the Big Guy that she'd recover faster in more familiar surroundings. And for the record I really tried to smuggle in that jerky for you, but the Big Guy caught me just as I was coming in. I swear he has eyes in the back of his head sometimes."

"He might with all that hair."

They have a comfortable laugh over the hairy resident butler and friend, but that one question is still buzzing in the back of his head. He finally decides to say it out loud for the first time; maybe it won't be so poignant when put into words.

"Do you think she hates me?"

"Who? Big Guy?"

It's an answer that's supposed to be funny, keep things light, but the question weighs everything down in his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

"C'mon Henry, you saved her life, I highly doubt she hates you."

"Then why hasn't she stopped by? I thought you said Magnus has been letting her move around in a wheelchair for a while now."

"Sorry, Henry, I've tried talking to her but you know Kate, you've got to let her come to things on her own terms or not at all."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks anyway, Will."

It wasn't until that night that he realized something everyone else had missed.

Magnus had slowly been weaning him off the hardcore pain meds she'd had him on as his injuries had started to heal faster and faster, and it was late during his first night without any that he awoke to the door of his room opening.

Eyes still closed, he listened for footsteps. The muffled thump of Big Guy's massive feet, the staccato of Magnus' heels, the soft tread of Will's sneakers, but the sound of rubber wheelchair treads meet his ears instead and it was all he could do to keep his eyes from popping open.

Kate.

Immediately her scent filled his nose. Spicy, with a hint of metal from her always carrying a gun that added a touch of danger to the already intoxicating combination that went straight to places he didn't want to think about.

But relief wasn't in the cards as he heard the wheels turn to come closer to his bedside, and he was torn between wanting her to stay forever and trying to get as far away as possible. Too bad he was still covered in stitches.

When he finally hears the chair stop by his bedside and feels a slender hand take his, however, he couldn't move even if he wanted to.

"Hey, Hank. I-uh, I'm sorry I haven't said anything sooner, but- I just wanted to say thanks for saving my ass."

Her hand starts to slip from his, however, and he can't let her go.

Gripping her hand tightly he hears her gasp as he opens his eyes.

"Anytime, it's a very nice ass," he can't help but smile, beyond relieved that she didn't hate him, but that smile was quickly wiped from his face as she took her hand from his and smacked him hard on the arm.

"Ow! Hey! I'm still healing too you know!"

"You jerk! You weren't supposed to be awake for that!"

"Sorry, but I'd rather bask in the fact that Kate Freelander owes me one."

"Fine, I'll leave you to bask," she huffed, but her stiff movements as she reached for the wheels of her chair caught his attention.

"Kate-"

"What?"

"Stop. You're in no shape to go back to your room. How many of these late night excursions have you been making?"

She stiffens even more, and he knows he's onto something.

"I can't stay still for long, that shouldn't be a surprise to you."

"Kate, you're not gonna heal if you don't rest."

"You're no nurse Henry, so cut the crap."

"No, I'm not, but I still don't get why you'd risk your health just because you're antsy!"

"Because I've been coming to see you, alright?"

He's stunned.

She'd been coming to see him?

"C'mere."

"Hank-"

"You're gonna fall outta your wheelchair if you try and make it back to your room now, and we can't have that. So c'mere."

She hesitates, but her exhaustion is now obvious on her face, and the wolf inside whines at the thought of her hurting herself further.

The beast also notices other things, but he forces those thoughts to the back of his mind. This wasn't about him.

She's staring at him, obviously figuring him out like she's so good at, but what she finds must convince her everything's cool because she slowly wheels herself closer to his bedside once more.

He quickly moves to help her out of the chair, but she pushes his hands away as she stiffly rises on her own.

Moving instead to leave room on the bed, he keeps a watchful eye on her form as she sits on the mattress, breathing as deep as she can before swinging her legs over and onto bed.

But despite her best efforts she lets out a hiss of pain, and he can't stop himself from reaching out to steady her as she tries to catch her breath.

One arm wrapped carefully around her middle while the other rubbed her back, waiting patiently as her breathing slowly turned back to normal.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. But how is this better than going back to my room?"

"Because of this."

Moving both of his hands to the back of her neck, he carefully started to work out the knots he found there. He felt most of his stitches stretch as he did so, but he ignored them, the noises Kate was making made whatever discomfort he felt more than worth it.

"Damn, Foss, why didn't I know you could do this?"

"You never asked, Freelander."

"Hm."

Several long minutes into the massage, however, he felt her sigh and reach up to grab one of his hands.

"Kate?"

"I'm sorry."

"Okay…"

"It was because of me that you got dragged into that mess. I shoulda seen right through Leo, but I wanted to show Magnus what I could do- prove once and for all I was worth my keep. And- I'm sorry."

"Okay, number one, you don't have to prove anything to Magnus. She keeps you, keeps all of us because we're valued members of her team, more than that we're family. And number two, I followed you because I wanted to, the consequences are my problem, not yours."

"Henry, you wolfed out and nearly killed all those guys!"

"And I'd do it again."

She shifts and looks at him straight on when he says that, her beautiful eyes wide.

"Why?"

He doesn't answer, at least not with words.


	7. Part 7

_Part 7_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Author's Note: This last chapter is for liliofthevaley, who demanded fluff sooner rather than later. :P

The minute his lips touch hers he readies himself for the punch, but the hand that would have made the fist is clutching at his X-Men t-shirt instead, and she's actually kissing him back.

_Damn._

It's hot and sweet at the same time and he wallows in the juxtaposition, in her.

Her breath, her taste, her heartbeat, her skin, her smell, a buffet for his senses that he'd never be full of.

Her smell, however, by far, is his favorite dish, a sharp tang he can practically taste.

The beast within growls its delight, bringing him quickly back to reality as he ends their kiss with an audible "pop."

"Hank? You with me?"

"Yeah, I- just give me a minute."

"You know, the eyes are kinda sexy. Something about knowing how hot and bothered you are-"

Watching her lean in, he felt a nip on his earlobe then a lick and he just about whimpered.

_God_, did she have any idea what she did to him?

One thing he'd always admired about her was her tenacity, however, which she was now showing in spades, moving from his ear to place wet kisses and bites down his neck.

"Kate-"

And then his mouth is on hers once more, almost crushing in its intensity. Her moans spur him on, but instead he forces himself to pull back on the leash, slowly ebbing the tension away with softer and softer kisses.

When they finally pull away her look is one of confusion and disappointment, but he swallows the urge to kiss her again and breathes deep before talking.

"As much as I want this to continue, I can't. We're both still injured and I would rather shoot myself than see you hurt because of me. That, and I need to know where this is going before we get carried away. Now I care about you, but what am I to you, Kate?"

He half expects her to balk, to go back on whatever the hell just happened between them, it was well within her MO and his to do so, but he was already out on the limb. He could only hope she'd be willing to climb out on it with him.

It's when he feels her hand curl around his cheek and chin that he wonders if maybe, just maybe, he's seeing her take that first step.

"I don't do relationships. Too messy, too complicated. But then I came here and I saw, remembered what having people care about you felt like. I met you. Henry Foss: geek, tech support, werewolf, and a really sweet guy. Too sweet really, for the likes of me. And then it turns out that this really sweet guy has a protective streak that leads to bad guys nearly having their arms ripped off and maybe I started to reevaluate what this sweet guy meant to me. Maybe there was a reason I was willing to take a bullet for him, maybe I like him more than I thought I did."

It's not a real answer by any means, but coming from one very emotionally shut-off ex-mercenary it might as well have been a full confession of love with rose petals and fancy champagne. She would have looked just as vulnerable as she did now.

He rewards that vulnerability with his own.

"I think I maybe love you too."

This time she's the one who kisses him, not that he minds.

_______Fin_


End file.
